(Untitled)

[arguewithmyself]

Weary and nursing a sore wrist while muttering curses under her breath the redhead fails to notice her surroundings right away. Rotating the injured wrist the soldier grimaces and shakes her hand irritably. Despite the tenderness there is no real damage done, thankfully. Still, the knowledge that she narrowly escaped doing potentially serious harm

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[arguewithmyself]

"It was a mistake voicing such opinions at all. If he truly didn't want the remarks to get back to his superior he should have kept them to himself. Given the uncertain nature of trust it is unwise to believe your friends, who can easily become your enemies, are capable of keeping such secrets to themselves should things turn sour in your relationship."

Eleven's implication that close relationships inevitably lead to betrayal is spoken with the same casual tone of voice as someone speaking of rain. The hostility is toned down a few notches when Communique continues to speak without moving from her perch. She listens passively, working off the nervous energy that has built up in her system by walking over to a nearby table to inspect its craftsmanship. Crouching beside it to trace the intricate designs carved in its legs she keeps the robot in her line of sight, just in case. When Kay stops talking Eleven straightens and slides a finger across the tabletop as if searching for dust. Finding none the soldier makes a noncommittal sound in the back of her throat and turns her full attention back to the femme.

"You are putting words in my mouth. I didn't insist that you give me a story from your past. You could have easily walked away and left me in the dark. There is little I could do to stop you." She remarks with a sardonic smile. All of the techno mumbo-jumbo has passed straight over her head, though she is smart enough to get the basic point of what Kay's story was about. Still, Eleven is not the sympathetic type at the moment, being in a bad mood as she is. "Well, as they say, life's a bitch and then you die. No one makes it out perfectly intact in the head. We all get screwed up one way or another."

[swift_beacon]

"It is entirely possible to have a closest companion for life. Arguments occur between everyone on every level of trust, but I have seen bonds unbreakable before."

Shifting her weight a little, her optics flash as her analysis completes. It's almost a perfect match, so either this IS Eleven...or it's a very similar alternate. She sends out a signal to the other Autobot currently in the Nexus, conveying quickly and efficiently who's she's found and what the current situation is... The response is almost immediate. 'Stay where you are and keep her there. I'm on my way.'

"Not so much words in your mouth as taking your words as a challenge. I may be somewhat skittish around very loud artillery, but information and verbal exchanges were much of my life for a very long time." Kay watches as Eleven hovers about the table, glad the girl is not so uptight in her presence as to fear devoting at least a little attention elsewhere. In the distance, her sensitive audios can hear tires over the Nexus grounds. Just another thirty seconds or so. "Life may be rough, but it's easier with a crew who has your back. The one that looked after you for a while is such a group..."

[critical_medic]

And just as predicted, an emergency response vehicle arrives just seconds after Communique finishes speaking, transforming up into Ratchet. He glances from the Autobot bird on the couch to Eleven, optics widening. Being told Eleven was there was one thing, but seeing her is another.

"Eleven, thank what's left of the All Spark you're alive!" Though he's closer to Kay and the couch, he reaches out one hand, then draws it hesitantly back. The warnings from Rosen and the information passed along from interactions with Seven and Alexa keep him where he is for the moment. She won't remember the old medic... Or will she? Part of him doesn't want to let go of the idea that no amount of brainwashing could completely block out the girl's time in Detroit. "You...you okay, kid? What they must have done to you..."

[arguewithmyself]

"Forming close bonds with others will only lead to weakness. Trust them to protect your back in battle by all means, but do not allow them to know you inside and out. You'll lose everything if you do."

Folding her arms defiantly over her chest Eleven raises her chin as if daring Communique to insult this point of view. Seems like those good old Xavier teachings have taken root, replacing the lessons of Detroit that had driven them out in the first place. Friendship and trust are once again things to be given out in small measure.

The bird's next comment catches her off guard, however. It takes her several moments to regroup, but once she does the defiance is kicked up to the point where it borders on arrogance. "I haven't the slightest idea what you are talking about. I belong to a pack not a crew, and we have always been cared for by the same group of people. I highly doubt you know them or anything about them."

Her bravado lasts all of ten seconds before crashing down around her with the arrival of another robot. For a brief moment she has the appearance of a deer caught in headlights, uncertain whether to stand her ground or sprint towards the closest escape route. Movement snaps the teen out of her stupor and she reacts with an instinctive leap backwards. One corner of the table catches her in the back, the sharp pain rendering her motionless again as her body tries to figure out what just happened. Gritting her teeth and sending a scathing glare at Ratchet Eleven hisses in combined pain and hostility, finding her voice again shortly after. "What the hell are you talking about?! No one has done anything to me!"

[swift_beacon]

Before Ratchet can make the mistake of trying to get to Eleven, Communique transforms and takes one of his arms in both of hers to make sure he stays put. Both of them can easily see and sense that the situation has suddenly changed and not for the better, but between the two Autobots, Kay is more grounded as she has yet to form an emotional attachment to the girl.

"No, don't!" she warns, glancing from the medic to Eleven and frowning in sympathy, though her tone is steady and strong. "Remember what you told me, what would happen to her in their hands. From the sound of it, she doesn't know you... So either she doesn't remember or this one is an alternate."

Over a secure link, she adds further: "If we get closer, she might bolt. Your arrival alone seems to have terrified her."

[critical_medic]

Ratchet sends Kay a pained look... It's easy to see this is tearing him up inside, but he knows what the femme says is likely true. His emotions are getting the better of him and he's placing hope where there may be none. Turning his gaze back on Eleven with an aching spark, the fingers of his free hand twitch; he wants to go to her.

"I know the girl she was... This is our Eleven," he manages, speaking to the bot at his side despite keeping his optics on the girl. Eleven's glare cuts him to the core, causing his mouth to draw into a thin line briefly before he addresses her demand, voice weak. "You just don't know who we are, anymore. They wouldn't let you remember us... But you stayed with us in Detroit. Communique you never met; she came after your time. I was the first one of our group you met, here. Ratchet, the crew medic and engineer. And you were friends with Prowl, Bumblebee, Bulkhead, Optimus Prime and Sari Sumdac."

[02isbetter]

((Hope a little inteference from Two is acceptable? ^_^))

From nearby comes a voice that Ratchet probably hasn't heard before. Two is seated on a table, twirling one of his batons between his fingers, the motions meant to be more of an energy expender than a threat. He smirks slightly as he speaks, watching the bots' features intently from behind his glasses.

"Mm, keyword is was, big boy." He nods his head in the general direction of Eleven. "She's ours. She always will be, and you really can't do jack about it. Even if you did somehow manage to bring her memories back, you think the Admin would just let her waltz out of there again? The termination order would be issued and executed very enthusiastically. Better to let sleeping dogs lie, eh?"

[arguewithmyself]

Kay's transformation and sudden movements spook Eleven further. Her gaze darts from one Autobot to the other, eyes wide and panic flickering through her expression. The pain in Ratchet's optics and voice have no effect on the girl who would have at one time done anything to make him happy. She listens to him rattle off the names of the Detroit crew and slowly shakes her head, retreating a few steps backwards.

"I've never been to Detroit," Eleven mumbles in a low voice. Two's voice nearby startles her, and for a long moment she seems to debate which option is safer, running or staying. Thoroughly confused by the turn in conversation she glances from the older soldier to the Autobots and, finally, slinks over to Two's side. Standing just close enough to enjoy the benefit of his presence she summons the composure needed to pull herself to her full height and glare at Ratchet and Communique again. Two obviously knows what happened to bring about her downfall, but now is not the place to try and glean information from him. "I don't have friends, robot. Friends are an unnecessary distraction that often proves fatal. Besides, I think I'd remember being cohorts with something as large and lethal as you."

[critical_medic]

"You...!" Ratchet has never met Two before, himself, that much is true. But like the other Autobots, he not only received Bumblebee's report on the soldiers, he was listening in while the smaller mech attempted to taunt the location of Xavier out of Two. Ratchet knows that voice...and it's causing him to go from devastated to irrationally angry. Turning blazing optics in the other soldier's direction, he's barely able to keep from charging down the human like a raging bull. "The name is Ratchet, you smug little pile of trash! You're just another pawn in their game! Do you think we'll let these kind of...of...inhumane, sick practices continue if we can do even the slightest thing about it!? You're not better than a bunch of gutter sucking Decepticons!"

[swift_beacon]

"Ratchet, stop! This won't help our situation!" Communique pulls back on his arm, then physically puts herself between the medic and the two soldiers, holding out her arms and raising her wings to act as a barrier. She is shorter than Ratchet, so he can still see over her, but he'll be less likely to test the anti-violence field with the former comm officer in the way. "He's just baiting you! That's what they do, isn't it? We won't manage anything this way... Calm down and pull some air!"

Glancing over one shoulder at Two and Eleven, her ridges lower in disgust. "Eleven, you were in Detroit at one time. The other Autobots took you in and gave you a place you could really call home. We aren't the liars here, and even for as big as we are compared to you humans, for as lethal as we can be, Autobots are protectors by nature. The others only ever wanted to help you... Maybe you'll never remember, but that is the absolute truth. And even if it takes stellar cycles, the truth almost always comes out." Her expression then becomes regretful. "Don't fear us... Ratchet is only angry because you were taken from the place you called home."

[02isbetter]

Two merely raises a brow behind his glasses. The AV field probably doing quite a lot to bolster his confidence. But still, he doesn't seem all that intimidated, even faced with the prospect of being possibly flattened.

"Well you got several things wrong there, robos. One, I couldn't give a rat's ass about you, let alone bother to bait you. I'm merely pointing out the facts. Two, you can't do a thing about it, no one is going to let you into our little club and enlighten you as to our location. So yeah, I'd have given up by now. And three, by far the most crucial. You seem to be under the impression that Eleven is a person. Like I've stated before, we're property, weapons. So these 'inhumane practices' of yours really can't be applied in our case, can it?"

All this is said in a tone of casual indifference, almost akin to the tone one might use when explaining the universe to a child.

"And as for the case of liars. Who were the ones who encouraged those feelings in little Eleven, here?" He sets a hand on her shoulder. "Who were the ones who put it into her head that she could possibly be a part of normal society? Not me, and I don't think any of the other prototypes did. The Whitecoats certainly didn't. Oh yeah, it was you. So really, who are the ones who have been lying to her? We know what she is, like the rest of us, we can accept and respect it. You? Not so much."

[arguewithmyself]

If the situation weren’t so volatile and their opponents not so massive Eleven would find this all rather amusing. The fact that she is being argued over with neither side taking into consideration her own feelings on the matter is undoubtedly one of the most bizarre turn of events in her life so far. That it is a pair of robots and a member of a rival team doing the arguing serves to further her emotional instability at the moment. Alternating waves of fear and frustration make her tremble with the wild desire to flee back to the safety of Xavier, the only home she can remember. Being caught in the crossfire of the fiery anger of the medic before her and the cool apathy of the soldier at her back prevents her from escaping, much like a mouse finding itself face to face with a hungry snake. Instinct tells her to run; panic freezes her in place.

"You tried to kill Seven. You tried to hurt me, weaken me. You have given me no reason to trust you." She states in quiet monotone, lowering her gaze to the floor between them and bowing her head. "You continue to insult us as you always have. You hate us. You want to destroy our kind for the crime of existing. You talk of being protectors, yet you are willing to kill those who do not share your views on right and wrong. You are the monsters here, not us."

Eleven shudders beneath the hand on her shoulder, lapsing into momentary silence and taking a deep breath before lifting her head again. Squaring her shoulders the teenager calls upon her training, reaching through the haze of confusion clouding her mind and finding her center of calm. Panic and all other emotions besides bleeds from her eyes, leaving her gaze cold and hardened and distinctly unfriendly. "If you are the ones truly responsible for making my life and those of my partners a living hell then you have no right to claim otherwise. It is your fault that I am confined and followed like a beast gone astray rather than being treated with the respect I deserve. It is your fault that Seven and Three must deal with the shame of being my teammates, I who have failed so badly. It is your fault that I must suffer the humiliation of being put on probation for a crime that I can’t fully understand because the details are classified! You have no right, no right, to preach friendship and goodness to me when I was almost killed because of you! You have no idea the pain you have caused!"

[swift_beacon]

Ratchet is about to introduce Two to the true meaning of "storm of profanity" when what Eleven has to say nearly brings him to his knees. Kay ignores the two soldiers for a second or two, long enough to place one hand on the medic's shoulder and send him a secure message: 'You're in no condition to argue the case rationally... You're in the field and trouble's come up. Remember back when... When you lost sight of what was around you for any reason, your navigator would temporarily take the reins. Let me do the navigating, Ratchet. You and the others have told me enough about the situation to handle this and I'm not so prone to losing my cool due to emotional attachment.'

As Ratchet slips down to his knees, gaze falling to the ground, however, Kay's antennae lay back like the ears of an aggravated canine. Still, she manages to turn and face Two and Eleven, standing straight with a confident air. And when she addresses Two, the tone is cool and firm, like that of an officer speaking to a cadet who has just screwed up.

"So who, then, are you? Eleven's handler? Her owner? Another soldier within the ranks?"

Kay then turns her attention to Eleven, though this time her tone softens marginally. The girl can't remember clearly what happened over the last five to six months. She's just acting on one part of the story. "You're accusing one of our crew of trying to kill one of yours. That seems a little odd given many of you kill on command, depending on what orders you're given. Any hatred we have of the other soldiers and the Facility is based upon what you told our team. Additionally, the truth is that Seven goaded Prowl into attacking him. He told Prowl what the whitecoats would do to you after they took you away. You don't remember, but Prowl has difficulty killing insects; that he would fly off the handle enough to try and break through the anti-violence field and destroy Seven is a testament to not only his loyalty to you, but to his outrage over the torture the whitecoats and administration inflict upon living, breathing being.

"Thirdly, it was you who wanted to get away from the Facility. No one made you leave it. You told Ratchet you didn't ever want to go back. You met Ratchet here in the Nexus, you spoke with him for a while and then you asked him if you could return with him to Detroit and hide out there for a while. He agreed to help you and your temporary hiding place ended up becoming your new home. Had people from the Facility not somehow forced you to return with them, you would likely still be living in Detroit even though the Autobots told you that you were free to leave at any time if you wanted to move on. You were there by choice the entire time. And that is probably the crime you're being punished for that they won't tell you about - you had a few too many independent thoughts and decided to be an individual."

[02isbetter]

"I'm one of the others assigned to damage control after the mess you made of her head." He smiles sweetly.

Two listens intently, mentally taking note of the few facts he wasn't already in possession of. When he's certain she's quite finished, he yawns, again addressing Eleven.

"Really Eleven, you've made the mistake of listening to these things once. And you saw where it got you. If you want to do it again that's your choice, but you know what the consequences will be. With us, you've never been anything but a respected and feared member of the pack. These things threatened one of the pack, these things that claim to value life, that claim to protect it. These things that cannot see past their own bias an accept what we are."

The baton flips closed and is returned under his jacket to its holder. "I'm not trying to convince you, don't get me wrong. But you see what pain lies in their wake. Think carefully whether you want to put yourself through it again."

[arguewithmyself]

Bringing something as large as an Autobot to its knees using nothing but a combination of accusations and glares is simultaneously alarming and oddly pleasing. A faint smirk appears on Eleven’s face as she subtly leans to the side to catch a better view of Ratchet, smug satisfaction chasing away the lingering fear. There is a wild gleam in her gaze now. For the past few months the soldier has been denied the thrill of the hunt and even that of training matches. Seeing the red and white kneeling on the floor in apparent defeat is the first taste of victory she has had in a long time, and she means to savor it. Shoving Two and Communiqué to the fringe of awareness Eleven abandons the ‘safety’ of Two’s side. A moment of indecision gives her pause but this too is cast aside. Made foolish by the surge of confidence she edges as close to Ratchet as she dares, keeping well away from Kay and devoting more attention to the femme the closer she draws to the pair. Finally, the teenager crouches and leans forward on her hands, tilting her head in an attempt to peer up at Ratchet’s face. Like a young predator that has made its first kill Eleven doesn’t seem to know quite what to make of the medic, though there is no mistaking the cruel amusement lurking in her eyes.

"I will not say that Seven is without blame for the attempt made on his life; he derives his fun from riling other people. This does not, however, excuse the fact that a member of your high and mighty team of protectors tried to kill him." Sitting back on her haunches Eleven finally spares a brief glance for Kay. Despite being deep in what could be called enemy territory at this point she makes no attempt to censor the mild haughtiness in her voice as she speaks. "And if I told you anything about life at the Facility as you claim I did then you would be aware of the fact that each team has a dominant member who is responsible for the protection of their partners. Given my... poor health of these last few months and Three’s status as a noncombatant that leaves Seven as our dominant. If your friend had killed him he would have made us prey to the other teams. Two submissives who are currently not fit to fight can’t very well defend themselves against much stronger soldiers, now can we?

"As for me wanting to leave the Facility permanently, don’t make me laugh. It is near impossible for me to live a normal human life in a normal human world. Hell, a normal world would be boring as hell, what with all its hypocrisy and dreadful inability to accept differences in opinion. My life at Xavier may not be what you consider a decent existence but it’s all I have. It’s all I want..."

Her voice loses some of its certainty at the end, taking with it the edge of the cruelty and smugness. Glancing over her shoulder at Two she sighs and frowns. "I know where I belong, Two. You needn’t worry about me wondering off based on what these machines have to say. They’re starting to lose their entertainment value."

[swift_beacon]

Kay watches warily as Eleven starts to slink towards Ratchet. She doesn't care for how this is going. When Eleven calls Two by name however, the former communications officer feels she's got a full clip of verbal ammunition and it's time to use it; this encounter needs to be brought to a close. Two will get his first.

"'Two', is it? Another Site Xavier soldier. And if you define Eleven who is also a soldier there as property and a weapon, then you by your own definition are the same. You have a lot of nerve referring to us Autobots as 'things.' We are sapient beings who have been in existence longer than your home planet. If anything, you are more of an automaton than we are. In fact, the driving desire of all life, whether it is born or created, whether organic or mechanical, is to exceed its original purpose and develop into something new. That is evolution. The universes themselves are in constant flux, ever expanding and changing," Communique says to Two, her explanation itself meant to be a slap in the face as though all of this is common sense that he cannot somehow grasp. Ridges lowering, she allows her gaze to turn more predatory. "You insult yourself and your fellow soldiers by believing all to be property, as if none of you have the capacity to be more than you were created to be. They did a fine job programming you, didn't they? If you want to be less than the rest of us by choice, if you want to remove yourself from the equation of development, that's your choice and your mistake. But I don't have any interest in listening to the babblings of someone who can't step up to the challenge. By your own admission, you're honestly not much more than a meat sack on strings and I don't carry conversations with objects. And if I want a weapon involved in discussions, I'll bring my own... Preferably one that is quieter and more effective than you."

That said, she mentally dismisses Two, having nothing more to say to him. Whether or not he is actually moved or angered by her words, she doesn't particularly care. What matters more to her is utilizing the opportunity to prove a point. After all, where the femme is concerned it doesn't take someone with half a brain to figure how self-deprecating it is to be someone else's property. Turning her attention to Eleven, Kay feels a sudden surge of matriarchal over protectiveness at the sight and sound of someone harassing and mocking one of her mechs, particularly one she was partnered with several times during the Great War. She feels for the girl, but not enough to let her verbally attack a friend. There's a burst of movement accompanied by two audible, metallic clacks as Kay's wings open fully and her feathers spread, each one extending from the main sails like several flat, straight talons out of their sheaths. Part of the panels on her wing interiors open to reveal reflective surfaces, identical to the undersides of all the feathers. Optics narrowing, she rattles her feathers in warning as the yellow-gold connectors leading from the back of her helm to her upper chest take on a glow. "It is getting harder by the nanoklik for me to forgive your behavior, Eleven. Step back from my medic, now."